Quinoa stir fry

I'm finding the key to vegetarian is the protein.  The problem is many cooks throw in cheese to get that protein.  Well, I'm going dairy-free, for a number of reasons that I will save for another post.  (Please be sure to subscribe to my blog to get that post :) So how do I get that protein without animal fat.  Quinoa is one of those grains that are high in protein.

The last couple of weeks I have been failing at recipes that my family has given me grief over.  I am not used to being stumped by a recipe.  Sometimes I make a mistake in a recipe but I understand how I can fix it next time. Vegetarian recipes are a bit more mysterious and I would sit at the table, with elbow on the table, my chin in my hand and everyone gone making PB&J, trying to figure out how to make a vegetarian meal taste good.

Well, I think I finally gotten the knack for it.  I've came up with two recipes where the family ate the whole thing.  I can't say it's their favorite.  It's hard to compete with salami and bacon but they seem to like it more then some of the other meat recipes, like stew or hot dogs.

This week, I'm sharing with you a Quinoa stir fry.

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Ingredients:
1 cup of dry Quinoa
2 tbl of olive oil
1 broccoli head
2 carrots
1/2 of zucchini
2 cloves of minced garlic
waterchestnuts
4-5 scallions
1 cup of frozen peas
soy sauce
salt (optional)

1. Cook the quinoa - somewhat modified from the package directions. I cook it with 1/2 cup of water more per 1 cup of dry quinoa then what the package says.  for instance if the package says boil 1 cup of water for 1 cup of quinoa, I will use 1.5-2 cups of whater.  I want my grains to be bursting with water.  It is my goal not to have hard grains in my dishes.  I find this goes over better at the dinner table.  You may need to experiment to see what texture you like.

2. Chop all the vegetables and mince garlic.  Have them ready to throw in the stir fry.  Once you start cooking you will not have time to chop them up.

3. Heat olive oil in frying pan on high heat.  When ready put in the broccoli and carrots.  Be careful of the oil splatter.  The broccoli will absorb most of the oil, no worries, you don't need to add more oil.

4.  After 2 minutes of stirring in the frying pan, add zucchini.

5. After a minute of stirring, add garlic.

6.  After another minute of stirring, add water chestnuts, mix in then add scallions, mix in then add frozen peas.

7. Stir for another 2 minutes.  Hang in there, you're coming to the end.

8.  Add the quinoa.  Note, quinoa expands quite a bit.  It does not have a lot of flavor so you want enough in it to get the protein benefits but not too much to overpower the vegetable flavor.  My goal is to have half vegetables and half quinoa.

9.  When the quinoa is added, stir for a minute then add about 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.  I don't always think there is enough soy sauce so I put in the 2 tablespoons then leave the bottle of soy sauce on the table for everyone to add what they like.

You may add salt at this time, but remember that soy sauce has lots of sodium so you may not need the extra salt.

10. Stir for another minute and serve.